Saturday, April 21, 2012

The stories of Vrindavan

Just back from Vrindavan…what a feeling! It’s a very cool and calm feeling that I am carrying in my heart ever since I came back. Vrindvan is a spiritual wine you would love to drink again and again.It has completely intoxicated me, I feel so satisfied, happy, cheerful, sacred and ecstatic inside. While I was there I did not know what I am going to get out of this tour, I was visiting temples, doing Parikrama’s, chanting and praying everyday but I did not have this feeling there which I am having right now.

Yamuna Devi:

Of the all the evenings of my life, the best evening I ever had, was the one I spent on Keshighat. It is such a great feeling to be at this place. Watching YamunaDevi is like watching goddess, you don’t understand what is happening with you when you look at Yamunadevi - the pap-nashini (Washer of all sins).

You feel like watching Yamuna Devi for a long long time and you remember all the leela’s that Krishna performed near this most pious river. The sister of the god of death Yamuna Devi removes the fear of the death. Yamuna Devi was first to touch the lotus feet of Krishna and bath in Yamuna Devi does help you to understand Vrindavan and Krishna.

VrindaKund: Vrindadevi temple is the temple of Tulasi maharani situated nearNandgaon. The atmosphere around this temple is mesmerizing there is absolutely nothing except trees near the temple; it’s a zero crowd place, all you will see around the temple is fields, birds and peace that billions of dollars can’t buy. The only voice you get to hear is the humming of birds 24/7….unbelievably cool and calm place.

The temples of Vrindavan:There are about five thousand temples in Vrindavanamong them all the old temples stand out. There is separate story and importance attached to each temple established by seven Go-swamis who lived in Vrindavan. If you walk into the Govinddev temple you become entitle to enter in heaven, if you take the darshan of Govinddev, Madanmohan and Gopinathtemple in a day you can get the darshan of Krishna in your life time.

Sankirtan and the arti at the Krishna Balram makes you feel, how wonderful life can be at times. Devotees get mad to hear the sankirtan, they dance, they laugh, they cry during sankirtans. Never ever miss the sankirtan of Krishna Balramtemple. How many times I should thank Srila Prabhupada the great, great soul behind this lovely temple.

I was also fortunate to witness “PhoolBangla” festival of ShriBankeBiharitemple. BankeBihari came out that day and it was quite a magnificent look Banke Bihari had that day…amazing!! Those who go to this temple once, feel like going there again and again..You take a criminal to Banke Bihari temple and he will be a devotee next day...this isnot an overstatement( A businessman once went to Mathura to visit his beloved Banke Bihari, as he landed, he hired a taxi to go to Banke Bihari temple. The Businessman asked to Taxi driver" How much I have to pay till Vrindavan"? the taxi driver said" anything you want, I am your servant". The polite taxi driver brought him to the temple. The temple was about to close, the businessman, his wife and his three kids would not have made it to the temple at the rush hour. The taxi driver said" Sir, It will not be possible for you to enter in the temple with your three kids and with this huge luggage, therefore I wait here along with your kids and you come back soon". Businessman was convinced and he ran towards the temple along with his wife, when he came back,he did not find the taxi driver. He was in a state of shock !!. His kids and luggage were missing. He searched them for hours, he was down in the dumps. After while he registered a complaint against the taxi driver. He decided to return to Banke Bihari temple and pray him, as he was climbing steps of the temple, he saw the taxi driver in the temple.The businessman just jumped down at his throat and asked" Where are my kids?

The taxi driver said" I am not a taxi driver, my only job is to kidnap kids and sell them, I went to Yamuna river with your kids and there one boy held my rickshaw and said" I will not allow you to go away from here, return those kids otherwise I will make u blind", "immediately after saying this that he disappeared". "I understood that this boy is nobody else but the supreme godhead Krishna, so I returned to the temple for begging clemency". The businessman thanked thousand times to Krishna and came to know that Krishna takes care of those who enter in Vrindavan. This is a true story happened in the year 1958 ) .

This is the magic of Banke Bihari. You wish anything in Vrindavan, You ask for any help in Vrindavan, the moment anything comes in your mind Krishna will fulfill it and he will save you from all kinds of troubles as long as you stay in Vraj. You have a worry in your mind; you will get a solution immediately in the Vraj as it is not an ordinary land you are walking on, it is the place where krishna lived. Vrindavan is a gift of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the world. He discovered the places where Krishna performed his acts like killing demons or performing ras lila

The Sadhus I met:Krishna would climb on Kadamb trees and gather all his cows, that place is called “TerKadamb” Ter means to call. There was this sadhubabaI met, who is staying there from past 15 years. I was amazed to see his enthusiasm and cheerfulness, the way he was speaking about Krishna. He was staying at a place where there is absolutely no medical help, no shopping malls, no daily needs shop, absolutely zero crowd and the only thing accompanied him from past 15 years is peacocks....unbelievable.

Another sadhu baba I met was during Vrindavanparikrama, whatever he told me was shocking.. he said he has no place to stay and he does not know what he is going get to eat next day. He had stayed at places like radhakund,Govardhan, Haridwar and Mayapur for months like this. These sadhus walk bare feet in 48 degree temperature and have bath at 4 am in the morning in 0 degree winter of Vrindavan without demanding anything in return fromKrishna. That throws a series of some serious questions in my mind like " What to do with those who sit in the Ac office and talk about devotion? What to do with those who throw away poor people thinking that they are presidents and trusties of some temple? What to do with those who are just interested in building big ashrams, gathering money, travel in a luxurious vehicle and increase their number of disciples.

Well finally…those who are serious about self realization and seriously want some progress in devotional life must at least go once to Vrindavan after while the truth will be close to them.

1 comment:

lovely account...visited it recentlyand had to pack much in a day for visiting most temples..what i liked are the stories and mystique surrounding this place. It has been my best trip so far and I was with my parents, so the fast and quick(and hollow)tour experience that happens when you visit with friends was not there. Devotees must learn the history and then go, they would enjoy more like we did.